Chess: R Vaishali becomes India's third woman grandmaster; creates history with brother R Praggnanandhaa

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Vaishali Rameshbabu of India has joined her younger brother, R Praggnanandhaa, in achieving the prestigious title of Grandmaster, making them the world's first brother-sister duo to attain this distinction in chess.

On Friday (December 1), Vaishali accomplished this feat by surpassing 2500 ELO rating points at the IV El Llobregat Open in Spain, marking her as the 84th Grandmaster from India. The 22-year-old from Chennai secured her victory in the tournament by defeating Turkish FM Tamer Tarik Selbes in the second round.

Notably, Vaishali is only the third woman from India to be conferred with the GM title. She secured her third GM norm at the Qatar Masters tournament in October and subsequently aimed to elevate her ELO rating.

In a historic achievement, Vaishali and Praggnanandhaa became the first brother-sister duo to qualify for the Candidates, the event determining participants in the World Championship match scheduled to take place in Toronto in April.

Praggnanandhaa had previously earned the GM title at the age of 12 in 2018. Koneru Humpy and Harika Dronavalli are the other two women GMs from India, with Humpy gaining the title at the age of 15 in 2002 and holding the record as the youngest female player to do so.

Chess legend Viswanathan Anand extended his congratulations to Vaishali on social media, acknowledging her dedicated efforts over the past few months and commending the competitive spirit fostered by her rivalry with her brother Praggnanandhaa.

Vaishali's introduction to chess was facilitated by her father, Rameshbabu, who was himself a chess player. The December 2023 FIDE rating list saw significant developments with the FIDE Grand Swiss and the European Team Championship, resulting in changes in the top 10 rankings.

Hikaru Nakamura climbed to the third position with 2788 points, while Anna Muzychuk moved up to seventh place after earning 14 points. The month witnessed an unusual trend of many players within the top 100 Open and Women categories gaining 20 or more rating points.

Notable players reaching their highest positions include Vidit Santosh Gujrathi (15th), Javokhir Sindarov (35th), Alexandr Predke (43rd), Nodirbek Yakubboev (77th), Vaishali Rameshbabu (13th, breaking into the top 20 women), and Stavroula Tsolakidou (39th).

Javokhir Sindarov achieved a career milestone by surpassing the 2700 rating mark for the first time, while Andrey Esipenko returned to the elite 2700+ group.